Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 68691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
“There’s not true,” she said quickly. “Did he tell you that was true? Because it’s not. I did what I thought was best for my boys, I didn’t want you to grow up cloistered here, princes of some small country I’d never heard of, with no future.”
And here, Kristian snorted, interrupting not so gently.
“I’ll have you know that St. Venetia is an up and coming hub of financial services,” he stated. “Small size doesn’t matter when your trade is digital currency and international banking,” he added pointedly.
But my mom just looked frozen.
“Well that wasn’t around when I gave birth to the twins,” she said, her expression rigid. “I did the best I could,”
And here Tina interrupted in a gentle voice. “I’m sure you did, Violet, I’m sure you did. But even if you were stifled here, if St. Venetia wasn’t your place, why didn’t you let Karl and Kato see their father?”
And here, Violet got really nasty, turning on a dime.
“Who are you to tell me?” she hissed. “You scheming slut! You spread your legs for anyone and look at my two boys now. Right back where I started, in this good-for-nothing cesspool.”
And before anyone could add anything else, she turned and screamed at all of us.
“Stop ganging up on me, I know what you’re up to! This is why I left St. Venetia in the first place, I feel so trapped, like everything was set up so that I’d fail. And now look what’s happened … I’ve lost three sons!” she screeched, her voice going higher with each word, literally finishing an octave above her starting pitch.
And here, the room fell deathly silent. After a pause, the Crown Prince spoke.
“I think you mean two sons,” he said smoothly. “Karl and Kato, the twins, that’s two,” he reminded gently, holding up two fingers.
And the woman just looked at him, a crazed expression in her eyes before bursting into peals of laughter, high-pitched, demented, the sound echoing off the walls, ringing so hard it hurt my eardrums.
“No, Highness,” she said sarcastically. “I didn’t miscount. Because I’m including you. You’re my firstborn.”
And with that, Kristian stepped back, tall, imposing, a harsh look in his eyes, face dark and stormy.
“Guards!” he called as troopers stormed into the room. “Arrest this woman for treason,” he ordered coldly, and turned his back on the hag as they dragged her out of the room.
TINA
My head spun. I could hardly believe what had happened, the conversation in the past ten minutes dizzying, switching tacks on the drop of a dime, accusations and epithets hurled every few seconds. What was going on?
But there was one part I’d caught: that Georg at one point had acknowledged his sons. He’d acknowledged Karl and Kato and tried to be a part of their lives, but he’d been barred from legitimizing them because he needed to marry for money.
And that’s what got me now. It was like some sick, twisted nightmare that keeps coming back, rearing its ugly head no matter what you do. Because I’d been shipped off to Miss Carroll’s for the same reason. My parents could no longer afford their lifestyle, our family fortune squandered over the years, and I’d been the last hope, launched into the world with a directive to find a rich husband to save our flagging estate.
Even crazier, it seems that once upon a time, King Georg had been in these very same shoes. The King himself, with the world at his fingertips, had had to sacrifice and give up a woman he was entranced with, who’d borne him three children, in order to marry a woman with a hefty inheritance.
“Where is Queen Agatha?” I asked, my voice trembling.
But no one answered. Suddenly this woman who I’d only seen from afar, observed from a distance, was a key linchpin in the events of the day.
But Kristian spoke for his mother.
“The Queen is indisposed,” he said coldly. “Agatha is still my mother no matter what that tramp says.”
All of us knew that the “tramp” he was referring to was Violet. Karl and Kato immediately turned on him, growling, hackles raised.
“Shut the fuck up,” ground out Karl.
“Fuck you,” spat Kato.
Clearly, no one was going to insult their mother, even if she was bat-shit crazy. But after glowering at each other for a few more seconds, all three males turned away, faces shuttered, giving nothing away. Maybe it was because the sight of each other was a jolt to reality – the realization that their physical resemblance wasn’t just chance, it was biology.
So with a dark look, Kato turned to the King.
“It’s true, isn’t it?” he growled. “He’s our older brother, isn’t he?”
Georg looked defeated at this point.
“I’m ashamed boys,” he said quietly. “That things have gotten to this point because yes, he is.”
And there was a stunned silence.